Camp Antler Point

Chapter 13

Even with the flashlight off, they could still see the bear. The beast shook its fur, sending water flying off its broad shoulders. If Amy hadn't heard the jeep's dying sputter, she would have thought the rumbling growl was coming from the engine, not the wall of muscle staring them down.

"I thought bears are supposed to be scared of people," Amy whispered. Even with the storm roaring outside, the thought of doing anything with even the ghost of a chance of spooking the bear made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

"It depends. They usually give humans plenty of space, but sometimes they end up associating humans with food." Carson gulped. "When that happens, the fear goes away. Some animals even specialize in hunting people when they realize we make for easy prey."

"But we're safe in the car, right?" Lucas laughed nervously. "I mean, what's it going to do, unlock the doors?"

"You'd be surprised. One of my professors said bears are as smart as raccoons, and considering how strong they are—"

"We'd better get ready in case he's feeling hungry. Got it." Amy's fingers wrapped around her canister of bear spray as the bear made its way to the side of the car. As its breath fogged her window, the look in its eyes reminded her of a cat angling its paw above a fishbowl. "Any thoughts on how we can get it to leave us alone?"

"Noise. If we're loud enough, it might think we'd put up a fight and wouldn't be worth the trouble." Carson passed them bags of chips and the first aid kit Mr. Sterling kept stashed under the driver's seat. "The things I'd do for an air horn right now..."

"Okay, guys. On three." Amy put the bear spray in the cup holder so she wouldn't set it off on accident and rested her hands against the first aid kit in her lap. "One. Two. Three!"

They all yelled wordlessly into the darkness, shaking the bags of chips and slapping their hands against the first aid kit until their eardrums throbbed.

The growling faded away as the bear raised its head, sniffing the air. Amy shuddered as she imagined that steady huffing coming even closer, the stench of rotting meat filling her nose as the bear's warm breath tickled the hairs on the back of her neck. She raised her voice until her throat ached from the strain.

The bear retreated back into the forest, its growling giving way to a series of short huffs as it ran.

Keeping up the cacophony until they were sure the bear wouldn't come back, they faded into an uneasy silence. Amy's palms burned from slapping the first aid kit, and her throat ached as if she'd stuffed it full of pine needles.

"I knew I'd be in for some crazy shit this summer," Lucas said, "but I didn't exactly expect to scare a fucking bear!"

"That was pretty badass, wasn't it?" Carson gave them a shaky smile. "I bet it'll think twice before ever trying to go after people now."

Amy nodded, too busy focusing on taking deep breaths and attempting to soothe her hammering heart to answer. That had been insane, probably the scariest thing she'd ever been through. It was wild to think all it had taken to deter the bear had been a little screaming.

As a long, bugling bellow drowned out even the thunder, she realized they hadn't been the ones to scare off the bear.